Prayer That Changes Everything - Harvest House · Contents What Is the Prayer That Changes Everything?. . . . . . . . . . 7 Part I Fifteen Reasons to Praise God Now Why We Need to

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STORMIE OMARTIAN

The

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THE PRAYER THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING®Copyright © 2004 by Stormie OmartianPublished by Harvest House PublishersEugene, Oregon 97402www.harvesthousepublishers.com

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Contents

What Is the Prayer That Changes Everything? . . . . . . . . . . 7

Part IFifteen Reasons to Praise God Now

Why We Need to Know God Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

1. Because He Is My Creator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

2. Because He Is My Heavenly Father . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

3. Because He Loves Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4. Because He Laid Down His Life for Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

5. Because He Has Forgiven Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

6. Because He Has Given Me His Holy Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . 77

7. Because He Gave Me His Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

8. Because He Is a Good God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

9. Because He Is Holy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

10. Because He Is All-Powerful. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

11. Because He Is with Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

12. Because He Has a Purpose for My Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

13. Because He Redeems All Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

14. Because He Is the Light of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

15. Because He Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Part IIFifteen Times When Praise Is Crucial

When We Need to Praise God More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

16. When I Am Troubled by Negative

Thoughts and Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

17. When I Have Anxiety, Fear, and Discouragement. . . . . . . 185

Prayer That Changes-Int'l/Trade 6/13/11 4:44 PM Page 5


18. When I Become Sick, Weak, or Injured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

19. When I Struggle with Doubt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

20. When I Don’t See Answers to My Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

21. When I Have Problems in a Relationship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

22. When I Need to Forgive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

23. When I See Things Going Wrong and I Feel

Powerless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

24. When I Long to Know God’s Will. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

25. When I Seek Breakthrough, Deliverance,

or Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

26. When I Need God’s Provision and Protection . . . . . . . . . . 267

27. When I Fight Temptation to Walk in the Flesh. . . . . . . . . 277

28. When I Am Attacked by the Enemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

29. When I Suffer Great Loss, Disappointment,

or Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

30. When I Sense that All Is Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309



1

Because He Is My Creator

_____ _____

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

I mean the very beginning. Back when God created heaven and earth.

On page 1 of Genesis.

God started the creation process without any preexisting things. He

began with nothing. With the presence of His Holy Spirit and the

entrance of His Word, creation happened. He brought order, light, life,

and beauty out of chaos and darkness. Every time He said, “Let there

be…” it happened.

God doesn’t need anything in order to create something great. Aren’t

you glad about that? I know I am. Even in our lives, God doesn’t need

much to work with. He can create something from nothing. He has cer-

tainly done that in my life.

Everything God Created Is GoodNot only can God create something from nothing, but everything He

creates is good. Seven times in the story of creation, God said that what

He had made was good (Genesis 1:4,10,12,17,21,25,31). If everything

God makes is good, doesn’t that mean you are too? Of course, sin came

in and perverted things, but God created you for good, and He is

redeeming your life to that end. He is all about redemption. And He

35



never makes an error. Even if something happens to ruin or pervert what

He has made, He provides us a way back to complete restoration.

Let me tell you some words God never utters.

Ten Things God Never Says1. “Oops!”

2. “What have I done?”

3. “How did I let that happen?”

4. “I made a mistake.”

5. “It was an accident.”

6. “I don’t know what to do.”

7. “I’m afraid of what will happen now.”

8. “I can do better than this.”

9. “What do you think I should do?”

10. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The reason it is important to know these things that God never says

is because it means He never says them about you either. Everything God

created is good. He says so Himself. That includes you and me.

If all God created is good, then anything that has been spoiled must

be our doing. Whenever we see anything of God’s creation that doesn’t

seem to be good, we can be sure that man has done something to ruin it.

Sin spoils everything. We spoil the good things in our lives when we

transgress our relationship with Him by not living His way. And when

we don’t give God the reverence that is due Him through our own wor-

ship and praise, we are not living His way. We are not fulfilling the orig-

inal intention of all God created us to be and do.

God Created You in His ImageHaving a close resemblance to your heavenly Father is an amazing

thought. “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He

created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). That

means you have your Father’s eyes. And you have your Father’s heart.

36 THE PRAYER THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING



You also are a brother or sister to His Son, Jesus, and you are destined to

become like Him. That means you are part of a really big family. “For

whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image

of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren”

(Romans 8:29).

What are some of the characteristics of God you would like to inherit?

What about His strength? His goodness? His wisdom? His patience?

His faithfulness? His peace? God wants to impart all of those things and

more to us as we are ready to receive them. God wants to share Himself

with us. He wants to train us up to be like Him. That doesn’t mean we

are actually going to be God someday. It means that He wants to show

us how to run the family business down here, and we need to have His

qualities and abilities to do it.

God wants us to remember Who it is Who gave us life and Who it is

we are supposed to resemble. “Is he not your Father, your Creator, who

made you and formed you?” (Deuteronomy 32:6 NIV). God wants you to

be thankful for the way He made you. I’m not saying don’t get your teeth

fixed or try to improve yourself in any way. Fix what you can, but also be

grateful for who He made you to be.

God Loves All He CreatedGod loves His creation just as a mother loves the child that is growing

in her womb—sight unseen. She is already completely in love with that

tiny person before he or she is ever born.

Your Creator loved you before you were born too. You were wanted.

You were not an accident. You didn’t evolve from a monkey. You weren’t

accidentally born to someone who could not raise you, and so you were

later adopted. God gave you life, and you are a part of His plan. He cre-

ated you and you are valued, precious, and priceless to Him. He loves

you because He made you and He knows who He made you to be.

You are unique. There is no one like you. There never was and never

will be. And God has a purpose for you that is unique as well. He has

Because He Is My Creator 37




big plans for your life. Remember, God never makes mistakes. Therefore

you are not one.

We Were Made for His GloryThe ultimate reason God created you is to be with Him. To glorify

Him. He says,“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created

for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7).

And we were made to worship Him. “This people I have formed for

Myself; they shall declare My praise” (Isaiah 43:21). Praising God is the

main purpose for which we were created. We were created for worship.

We just have to get it straight in our heart exactly where our worship is

to be directed.

____________________ ____________________

At the root of God’s revelation to His creation, worship

is shown as the prerequisite for man’s ability to receive

and live within the high possibilities and rich benediction

of God’s plan.

—Jack Hayford

____________________ ____________________

God Loves His Creation and So Should WeAll too often we don’t take time to step back from the world to appre-

ciate God’s creation. To thank Him for it. To praise Him as our Creator.

When we do, it gives us a whole new perspective. It takes away darkness,

futility, and foolishness from our minds. It helps us see the world through

different eyes.

His!That means we need to praise God for other people. But that’s not

always our first thought, is it? It’s so much easier to praise God for His

sunset, His ocean beaches, His trees and flowers. But His people?



Waking up every day and thanking Him for other people? They may not

be our first thought, but they are His.All that God created is beyond our full comprehension, but this is

especially true when it comes to people. Every person in the world is

entirely unique, down to their fingerprints and DNA, and we need to

respond to God’s greatness as our Creator by praising Him for all those

whom He has created. This is not worshiping the creature rather than

the Creator (Romans 1:24-25). This is worshiping the Creator and appre-ciating His creatures.

When we praise God for other people, it helps us to gain His heart

for them. He loves them. All of them. We definitely don’t do that in the

natural. Our love for other people has to be ignited in the Spirit. God has

to impart that ability to us. And He does it when we praise Him for the

people He has created.

Think of that the next time you are at an amusement park, standing

in line for an hour with a thousand other people, trying to get your chil-

dren on a ride. Or when you are at a sporting event, concert, or meeting,

and it’s wall-to-wall bodies and some of them don’t smell as fragrant as

others. Or you are at the grocery store just before a snowstorm or after

an earthquake and all the batteries, bottles of water, bread, and milk are

gone. Think of it when you are hopelessly stuck in a traffic jam that

shows no sign of moving because of the number of cars and trucks in

front of you. These are the times to especially thank God for all the

people He created, and that they each have a unique calling and purpose

that is important to Him.

We also need to appreciate everything else in God’s creation. We can

sometimes become so wrapped up in praising man’s creations that we

ignore God’s completely. If there were no other reason for our praise, the

fact that God is the Creator of all would be enough. “The heavens declare

the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

All of God’s creation is an expression of His love for us.

Every time I look at an ocean sunset with explosive shades of red,

pink, yellow, lavender, and orange dancing in lavish combinations on the

water as far as the eye can see, I feel God’s love and find that praising





Him comes automatically. But God wants us to see the beauty of His

creation at all times and in all places. No matter where we look. Even in

the depravity of the world around us, His creation can still be seen and

appreciated. His love can still be found there.

When you are going through a difficult time, don’t let yourself

become so overwhelmed by your concerns and blinded by your situation

that you can’t see anything else but that. Praise God as your Creator

and thank Him for His creation. It’s important to our well-being to

acknowledge that everything under heaven is God’s ( Job 41:11) and to

praise Him for it. “Then at last they will think of God their Creator” and

have respect for Him (Isaiah 17:7 TLB). When we don’t think of God as

our Creator and don’t give Him the proper respect, there are ramifica-

tions for that. “For this is a people without understanding; so their

Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no

favor” (Isaiah 27:11 NIV).

This is serious. It’s not a good idea to lose God’s compassion and favor.

God loves His creation. He surely doesn’t love all that has happened to

it, but He knows the way He created it to be. He sees its potential, He

knows its purpose. He wants you to see that too.

The same is true for you. You are His creation and He loves you. He

may not love all that has happened to you or all that you have done, but

He loves you and He knows the way He created you to be. He sees your

potential, and He knows your purpose. And what He can create in your

life now is without limits.

The hidden power of praising God as your Creator releases Him to create newlife in you.

WORSHIP IS

…celebrating Him as our Creator and thanking Him for

all that He has created.



I Give God My PraiseLord, I worship You as the Creator of heaven and earth. All things

were made by You and everything You created is good. I praise You for all

of Your beautiful creation. You placed the earth on its foundation so that

it can never be moved (Psalm 104:5). Your right hand stretched out the

heavens (Isaiah 48:13). Thank You that You have blessed us with light and

dark, sun and rain, food and water, land and sea, trees and flowers, days

and seasons.“The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and

all its fullness, You have founded them” (Psalm 89:11).

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon

and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are

mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a

little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and

honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put every-

thing under his feet” (Psalm 8:3-6 NIV). I know that “both men and

women come from God their Creator” (1 Corinthians 11:12 TLB).“How

many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have made them all; the

earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24 NIV).

O Lord, thank You that You created me and gave me life. “You formed

my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

I praise You, “for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are

Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14). I praise

You for every breath I take and thank You that I was created for good

things. Help me to be renewed in the image of You, my Creator (Colos-

sians 3:10 NIV). I know You made me to be so much more than I am now

and that You will help me become all You created me to be.

I praise You for the people You have created, each one unique and

valuable and carrying in their spiritual DNA a purpose that is distinc-

tive and priceless as well. I am grateful for the potential for good that You

have placed within each one. Help me to value others as Your creation

and see them the way You do. Thank You, Jesus, that You are “the image

of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15).




“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for

You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created”

(Revelation 4:11). I worship You as my Creator and I praise You for all

that You have created.

God Gave Me His WordChrist himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven

and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the

spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and author-

ities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory.

COLOSSIANS 1:16 TLB

____ ____

By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took

me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually

of You. I have become as a wonder to many, but You are my

strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and

with Your glory all the day.

PSALM 71:6-8____ ____

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God

commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Cre-

ator.1 PETER 4:19

____ ____

Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot

argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who

forms it, saying, ”Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” or the pot

exclaim,“How clumsy can you be?”

ISAIAH 45:9 TLB

____ ____





Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and

what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never

build them up again.

PSALM 28:5 NIV

____ ____

Giving It Some Further Thought1. Write out a prayer of praise to God, worshiping Him as your

Creator and thanking Him for His creation. Take a moment to

experience God’s creation right where you are. What do you rec-

ognize in the world around you of God’s creation for which you

are especially grateful? What of God’s creation reveals His love

for you? Write out praise to God for those specific things.

2. Read Psalm 104:1-24 in your Bible. Write out a prayer of praise

for the things listed there that God created.

3. Read Psalm 28:5 in your Bible. What happens to people who

do not show any regard for what God has done?




4. Read Romans 1:24-25 in your Bible. Why did God give these

people over to their own lusts? What should you remember to do?

5. Read Genesis 1:27-31 in your Bible. Who did God create

and what did He tell them to do? How did He feel about His

creation?



Documents

Prayer That Changes Everything - Harvest House · Contents What Is the Prayer That Changes Everything?. . . . . . . . . . 7 Part I Fifteen Reasons to Praise God Now Why We Need to